After TARP cash-in, Wall Street looks to profit from Michael Jackson's death

Where there's weakness, there's always a way for Wall Street to profit. TARP gave a collapsing Wall Street the taxpayer money it needed to get back in the game. And last week Goldman Sachs Group (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) posted big profits and plan to pay themselves big money. Next up is Michael Jackson -- his estate represents a juicy money-making opportunity for others on Wall Street.

The Jackson estate's most valuable asset is his 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV -- a music catalog that includes over 200 Beatles' songs -- that could be worth $1 billion. Four Wall Streeters -- Colony Capital -- a lender to Jackson's Neverland; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Plainfield Asset Management -- which lent money against Michael Jackson's own catalog (Mijac) -- and the Power Rangers mogul Haim Saban -- have approached the Jackson estate about buying Jackson's 50 percent stake.

In case you're interested in what people talk about at Allen & Co.'s Sun Valley meeting of the moguls -- now you know. And why would these greed-heads want that Sony/ATV stake? Over the years, it has grown to include songs by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Beck, and Taylor Swift. But Sony has said it does not want to sell Sony/ATV. Meanwhile Jackson's estate still owes up to $500 million, so the clock is ticking.